1. How do Ski Solutions make their money if their service is free to the client?
Ski Solutions earns commission from all the Tour Operators it uses but you, the client, only pay the price advertised in the brochure - the same as if you had booked direct with the operator. In the case of A La Carte hotel holidays, Ski Solutions earns commission from hotels and other suppliers. (For some last minute holiday, a LATE BOOKING FEE may be applied to the cost of your holiday.)

2. How do I know that my money is safe if I book a holiday through Ski Solutions?
Ski Solutions is bonded with both ABTA and the CAA and also holds the relevant ATOL and IATA licences to ensure that your money is safe at all times. We only work with other appropriately licensed tour operators.

The air holidays and flights shown are ATOL Protected by the Civil Aviation Authority, and we act as agents for licensed tour operators; the relevant ATOL number is displayed with each holiday shown. ATOL Protection extends primarily to customers who book and pay in the United Kingdom.

3. Does Ski Solutions have a brochure?
Not as such. We do not produce our own printed brochure because we are primarily a broker selling holidays from a huge variety of different tour operators. We will, of course, happily send you copies of their brochures when relevant. In the case of A La Carte hotel clients, we will post or e-mail details from the hotel's own brochures. Ski Solutions made a substantial capital investment in this website that you are currently using. We believe that for our clients this website is a more effective tool than any printed brochure could ever be.

4. Does it make any difference what day of the week we want to travel?
The vast majority of ski tour operator's package holidays to Europe run for one or two weeks from Saturday to Saturday or Sunday to Sunday. Because these holidays generally involve charter flights, there can be no flexibility. Dates and durations of holidays to North America vary. However, A La Carte hotel holidays booked directly with us allow the client to specify the exact duration of the holiday and the timing of the scheduled flights used, subject to availability. We must point out that, in practice, many of the best alpine hotels will only accept bookings on a Saturday to Saturday basis during peak periods.

5. When do I have to pay for my holiday in full?
You will generally be required to put down a deposit for your holiday when you make your booking and then usually you will be required to make full payment 8 weeks before departure depending on the tour operator. These timings do vary according to the particular holiday you have booked, but we keep you advised of the date when the full balance is due.

6. How long has Ski Solutions been going?
Ski Solutions was founded in 1984 and was, at that time, the first independent ski travel agency in the UK.

7. Where is Ski Solutions based?
Ski Solutions is based at 84 Pembroke Road, Kensington, London W8 6NX (entrance in Warwick Road). Whilst we are always happy to welcome personal callers, in most cases we find that business is more quickly and efficiently done by means of the telephone, fax, e-mail and our website.

8. Why is Ski Solutions better than other so-called ski travel agencies?
Ski Solutions was Britain's original specialist ski travel agency 25 years ago, but, inevitably, the idea has been much copied. However, many companies who would claim to be our rivals tend to work more as clearing houses trying to get rid of package holidays sold by the larger operators. They have little or no interest in promoting the holidays of the kind of small specialist niche operators with whom Ski Solutions works closely.

9. Who are the Ski Solutions staff?
Ski Solutions has a year-round staff of 15 but during the peak holiday booking season (September to March) our numbers rise to 30. All our staff are skiers and almost all have spent several seasons working in the Alps.

10. How do the Ski Solutions staff know about the properties and resorts they are selling?
Most of our staff have spent several seasons working in the Alps and North America. However, each year we make it a priority for them all to spend plenty of time in the Alps making first-hand visits to the chalets and hotels in all our top resorts.

11. Why am I better off talking to Ski Solutions first rather than going directly to a tour operator?
Tour Operators' sales staff, especially those working in the chalet market, are under pressure to sell their company's "committed" chalet beds. Therefore, in order to sell empty beds they may be tempted to exaggerate the quality of the chalet, its proximity to the piste, etc etc. By contrast, at Ski Solutions, our staff can afford to be honest with their opinions - it is not our problem if a certain tour operator has unsold beds. In other words, we have the luxury of being able to sell you exactly the holiday you want, rather than the holiday we need to sell.

12. Does Ski Solutions sell any other kind of holidays?
No. We sell only ski holidays 12 months of the year. We are the ultimate specialists.

13. What if I want to go on holiday to a destination not featured on your website?
Not a problem. Our website features only our most popular resorts, but in practice we are willing and able to sell you any ski holiday to any ski resort in the world. For example, we do quite a bit of business to French purpose-built resorts such as Les Arcs as well as to places such as Banff/Lake Louise, Mammoth, Steamboat, Jackson Hole and other North American destinations.

14. Who owns Ski Solutions?
Ski Solutions is a limited company and the majority shareholder is Lizzie Norton, Managing Director, who has 35 years experience in the ski travel business and who bought the company from the founders in 1991.

15. What is Chalet Search?
Chalet Search is a database of over 750 chalets, from operators both large and small, that provides a search facility for you to find the ideal holiday for your requirements. You can add criteria such as 'childcare required', 'ski to door' or 'ensuite bathrooms only' to refine your choice. You can also create a shortlist of suitable properties, e-mail this to the rest of the group for their comments, and then submit your list to us to check out availability. Alternatively, you can call us to discuss your shortlist.